Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1887-11-26
STATE OF FRANKLIN
HISTORY OF THE COMMON
WEALTH ORGANIZED IN EAST
TENNESSEE.
An Interesting "Reminiscences of the
Olden Time.--Queer Salaries Paid
the State Officers.
J~essamine journal.

Jessamine Journal.
Before the establishment Of the
Governmental the United States and
before or about. the time that the ter
ritory which now constitutes the
State of Tennessee was coded to Con-
gress, the inhabitants of the eastern
part of that territory established a
government for themselves, and
called it Franklin, in honor of Shad-
rack Franklin, Governor of North
Carolina, about the close of the Revo-
lutionary war. The settlers of Frank
lin were composed of a noble race of
men who had served in the armies of
Washington and Greene. They had
decended from the best and bravest
of the Scotch and English settlers of
North Carolina and Virginia. In the
wilderness of East Tennessee it APP
pears that more than $500 of them
had settledssoon after the close of the
great struggle for American freedom.
Separated by the mountains and a
vast wilderness from the mother
State, which had in effect abandoned
them, uncertain of their adoption by
the Federal Government, and expos
ed to the incursions of the Cherokees,
they adopted a very good constitu-
ton, divided into the usual branches
of legislative power. They laid and
collected taxes and performed other
usual acts of legislation, They had,
it is true, no maritime possessions,
yet they followed the common forms
of constituting high offices, and Their
Governor was not only Captain, Gen
eral and COMMANDMENT Chief, but
Admiral also, so that the navy might
HAYES commander when there should
be a navy.
HE OHEENS VI fhANhblN
became very much deranged. Specie
was exceedingly scarce, and equally
scarce were the notes of specie pay
ing banks. 1t became necessary Il
pass what we would call the civil lis
appropriation bill. The preamble o
that law begins by reciting that TIL
collection of taxes in specie had be
come very oppressive tothe good PEG
pie of the Commonwealth, for TIL
want of a circulating medium. 1t re
cites further that it is the duty of TIL,
Legislature to hear at all times tn
prayer of their constituents, especial
ly those who had lost all in the strug
gle for independence, and apply a
speedy a remedy as lies in thei
power. Acting under the infuenc
of these sound opinions the Legisla
ture of Franklin passed a law for tn
support of the civil list, which is yer,
interesting and amusing, and wa
given to me in 1862 by w. H. Wen
dali, of Putnam County, Tenn, VIII
is a grandson of John SEWER:
"Bei it enacted by the General AS
sembly of the State of Franklin, an,
it is hereby enacted by the authorit,
of the same, that from the first ola,
of January, A. D. 1889, the salaries
the civil officers of this Common
wealth shall be as follows, to-wit:
His Excellency, the Governor, pc
annumn, 1000 deer skins.
His Honor, the Chief Justice, so
deer skins.
Attorney General, 500 deer skins
Secretary of State, 500 raccoon skins
The Secretary of the Treasury, As
otter skins.
Each County Clerk, 5000 beave
skins.
Clerk Of the House of Commons,2C
raccoon skins.
Members of the General Assembly
per diem, three raccoon skins.
Justice of the Peace fees: for sigr
ing a warrant, one musk rat skin.
TO Constable serving a warran
one mink skin.
Ministers ofthe gospel for marry
rying the people, eight mink skins.
Be it enacted by the General A:
sembly of the State of franklin, thu
no citizen shall neglect the prop(
training of children in the school
And be it further enacted that a fir
Of twenty mink skins shall be in
posed on all those settlers who ne;
lect sending their children to tt
nearest school-teacher, etc.
Be it further enacted, that no ma
in the Commonwealth shall HAY
more than one lawful wife. Bastard
and such as are guilty Of "concubil
age" shall suffer the penalty of ext
beyond the boundry line of Franklil
Enacted into a law, this is the ISL
of October, 1889, under the Great Sc